Panel Votes To Seek Grant For Police Officers

SIMSBURY — The police commission voted Wednesday to place the town into a pool with other small communities seeking federal money for new police officers.

The commission members approved a preliminary grant application under a program administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. The grant application must also be approved by the board of selectmen, which meets Monday.

The federal program, known as COPS FAST, is targeted to communities with populations under 50,000. It was part of the federal crime bill enacted in September.

The grant program is aimed at helping small communities expedite hiring new police officers. The three-year grants would each year pay up to a maximum of 75 percent of the salaries and benefits for an officer, with a cap of $75,000 per officer. The amount of federal money decreases from year to year.

Commission Chairman Edward Simpson said if the town receives any money from the federal program, it would be used to fill vacancies anticipated because of future retirements. Police Chief Alfred Shull said salaries and benefits for new officers total $52,329 per officer. The town would seek money for up to three officers, he said.

But Shull and other commission members stressed that the application was only preliminary, and there are no guarantees the money would be awarded. The commission checked into the program after a resident recently asked whether the department had looked into federal money to help alleviate staffing shortages.

The deadline for the grant application is Dec. 31. The towns selected will be asked to provide further information on their budgets and police programs.

In other matters, commission members revised their citizen complaint rules so that issues more than 6 months old can be considered if a majority of the commission approves the request.